We recently connected with Tajshina Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Tajshina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

I grew up helping and serving people. My parents were pastors and I was able to see first hand what it looked and felt like to care for others beyond myself. They instilled humbleness into me and my siblings. So as an adult what does that look like? It looks like compassion! I’ve developed a sense of pride in doing things for others and wanting the best for them. I wanted the best for myself as well, and still do. So why not help whoever I can reach or find their full potential. When you think about what we do (my husband and I) we serve! We serve the community.
My parents never gave up, I witnessed their drive from beginning to end and they never stopped. What I mean is that when different challenges showed up, they found ways to still accomplish the goal. They made sacrifices for the betterment of their kids and the those around them who they vowed to help. There were countless selfless acts where they put others before them. How does this relate to business? The way I see it is that I honestly work for my customers. I work to make them quality products, and drinks, and they don’t have to question the integrity of the product. We use all natural, quality ingredients. We don’t compromise when it comes to how we make our drinks and products. The sacrifice comes from us not cutting corners when it comes to the production. It would be so much easier and faster it we used processed ingredients instead.
The sacrifice also comes from waking up at 6 sometimes 5 AM EVERY Saturday and Sunday, in order to have enough time to make everything fresh and ready to serve at the market and also at the restaurant. I can’t remember the last time I slept in on a weekend or partied on a Friday night. My weekends are dedicated to what I do every week. My parents also showed me what delayed gratification looks like. When you sacrifice you don’t always feel the reward right away. Sometimes it may take a while, for you to see and feel the benefit. Keep going, in those times and remember to give yourself rewards when you do a great job.
For me being a business owner is actually humbling. I’m not doing this so I can buy a Tesla. (Although buying one is one of my goals) it’s not my reason “why”. My reason is to simply be and live to the best of my ability while, using my gifts talents and services, while helping others do the same. So if when you see me, you see a great person with strengths and weaknesses, giving back to the community and the people around while using those strengths and learning from the weaknesses then you know what my parents did right!

Tajshina , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well!! I am one of the owners of Goodwater. My husband Bryan being the other owner. We now own a restaurant, (Nacho Crazy). I also have my own brand of vegan cheese (Ms. T’s Vegan Cheese) Goodwater started at the Farmers Market. All it took was an stroll through the market, on a Texas summer day. I took my my husband to the market for an afternoon date. We weren’t married then. He’s not from here, so I wanted him to experience the market as I had growing up. He loved it, but saw that there was one thing missing….WATER. He was thirsty and there was no “good water” out there. That was the problem… now how did we solve it? I was vegan at the time and had introduced him to infused water. Well he had already been infusing his water with fruit but didn’t know of all the benefits. He was doing it for flavor and I would do it for the nourishment! Since he’s an entrepreneur at heart, his wheels started to turn. He thought it would be a great idea to put a “water” booth at the market. He would tease me and tell me that water infused with fruit was “good water”. So that’s where the name came from. I’m thinking a “water” booth? “Who’s going to buy water from us?” I was like, there are so many people out here selling custom creations, there’s so much creativity… so how in the world are we going to get them to let us sell just WATER??
I always wanted to work for myself but didn’t know how to execute. There’s a reason for everything and I believe I married this person for a reason!! Owning your own or let’s say, being your own boss means you know you have an idea, that will make things better so you believe in yourself and your idea, and take the steps to make it happen.
So when I questioned him, he said “you’ll see” “it’s gonna work”.
Since he had started a few businesses on his own, I trusted him. I watched, I learned and I had to be brave. The reason I didn’t know how to take the necessary steps in owning my own business is because the bravery had to cultivated. I don’t want to get too deep but I learned something that day. I was looking at the situation wrong. I was telling myself everybody sells water, that’s so common. But when he told me his plan in such a way to where I saw he believed in this product, it sparked motivation in me. And from there, Tajshina the entrepreneur was born. He came up with the name and logos and I created the recipes and the came up with the how we would present things aesthetically.
I had to be brave, this was an avenue I wasn’t familiar with. I was a 9-5 girl and a very good one at that. Worked the same job for 13 years until I quit because I had grown so much in the company, I felt I was ready to do my own thing. There are so many great opportunities and so many things you learn and skills you adapt that come from working hourly, so I used those things I learned to my advantage of course. We had to pitch the idea of good water to the Farmers Market administration. I had to do a whole presentation to convince them that they needed good water at the market. This was in 2017, so I’m not sure if the process is the same today.
One thing about about this life is having to get out of your comfort zone. I’m not saying it’s uncomfortable all the time, but the things you normally wouldn’t do or wouldn’t want to do (lol) you may have to do.
The day of the presentation I was very nervous. I wasn’t use to “selling myself” or a brand that I had created. That discomfort forced me to do well and sell the product. They asked me all kinds of questions and I had to think fast and answer on the spot. “Why the name Good Water?” “What are the benefits?” “How is it made?” “What does alkaline mean?” I was either going to sink under pressure or swim! My husband was standing off to the side. He had done this before, had to prove himself many times before so now it was my turn. His decision not to step in caused me to see my true potential. I told myself you have to get through this and it has to be good. Needless to say, we were accepted. I gained so much confidence that day. This may seem small but there’s a bigger lesson in this. You may sometimes have no idea what’s in you until it may have to be pulled out some kind of way. The pulling may come in the form of challenges, setbacks, negative things people say about you, self sabotage, or being told no. But if you keep going, you’ll win every time.
That’s what I’m most proud of. Allowing myself to be a little afraid and pushing myself to do it, and in turn coming out on top.
Being at the market has helped us grow as business owners so much. We didn’t know how to do a lot of things. Other vendors welcomed us and showed us the ropes. Now we do the same. This has lead us to so many opportunities. So many doors have since opened because we stuck with it. Every weekend for over five years we were there. The determination we saw in ourselves led us to believe that we would do more! We eventually opened a restaurant. How did we go from drinks to food? That’s the thing. Once you master and keep at a thing, doors will just open. You don’t have to do anything but remain dedicated and discipline with your passion and things will happen. God has had a LOT to do with my (our) success and I believe He saw the dedication as well, and allowed us to have continued success.

(Side note) I have actually started a few little side jobs/hobbies on the side that stem from entrepreneurship. I make bracelets and sell waist beads.
I also have a blog (Married With Scars) that chronicles my experiences and challenges and how I deal with them in everyday life. So Good Water has definitely been the vehicle for a lot of things for me

We have since added sea moss and vegan cheese to our product repertoire, all of which I take personal credit for!
I like to take the all natural, no chemicals, dyes,gmo, ingredients approach to things. Which is why adding things like sea moss and vegan options to our brand is important to me. Health is always my first priority. We have to take care of ourselves and implementing small things into your lifestyle can and will make a really big difference. So whether you come to our restaurant or to our farmers market booth, you can always expect to have the options to make a healthy choice. I don’t just want to serve you food or drinks, I want to serve you a better choice, and alternative to help motivate to continue to make good choices with your health.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I value and appreciate genuineness and I firmly believe that others do to. I’ve had to ask myself, “ how did I get here?” The technical answer is hard work, money management and drive even when being told no. Now the personable answer is… me. (Smile) That “me” that’s in everyone. It’s not conceit, it’s recognizing that people like you, and being ok with knowing people like you for you. People are loyal to who the deem genuine, friendly, likable and fun. At least that’s been my experience.
People really do like the taste of good water but they also like how we make them feel. Our good water family is important to us. Our Nacho Crazy customers are the reason, and my vegan cheese buddies know I love them AND ANIMALS! You’ll get that later. But people want a reason to like you. Give them one. Give them lots of reasons to keep coming to your booth or restaurant or website every week.
I’ve had to admit that part of the reason people buy my vegan cheese or the good water is because they like (me). They like the way I explain the benefits of not eating processed all the time, they like when I smile at them, they like my friendly nature, they like when we take time to talk and just speak to them and they like the fact that I don’t just see them as another dollar but that I SEE them.
We’ve developed such a loyal customer base and I think one reason is because we make them feel like family. We greet everyone we meet and everyone who passes by any of our establishments. “Hey Family” is the good water greeting. And also, once you buy a Good Water drink, you are a VIP (very important person) for life. We make our vip family feel special because they are. In turn, our customers share the love on social media and with their family and friends. It’s an ongoing circle. I always get people who come to me and tell me their family or friend or a post is the reason they came. It’s very rewarding.
Our VIP family pretty much run our social media page! They love posting and we love reposting! Lol
Once you recognize that “me” in yourself, yourself, there’s no stopping.

Any advice for managing a team?

If you watch um let’s see Lebron James, for instance. Have you even just listened to him speak to his team before the game, or even on the court? It’s very motivating. One thing I’ve noticed about him is that no matter what team he’s played he takes himself very seriously. He takes the game of basketball seriously, he takes winning seriously and he takes his reputation (on and off the court) seriously. You can tell that it’s his passion. He invests in himself (millions), in order to be the best.
Why does his team listen to him? I believe it’s because they realize who he is, what he’s accomplished and that he knows what he’s talking about! Lol
When you show up with confidence, people listen. But you also have to have compassion and understanding. Our teams stay motivated because they see the work we put in everyday, and they respect that. They recognize that our brand is important to us and so is our reputation. I’m telling you, people follow who they aspire to be. If you show them something different, like encouraging them, understanding and listening to them. We make Our employees, team members and leaders feel like they are a part of our success instead of just working towards our success. No, we grow, you grow.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Ilovegoodwater
• Facebook: Chef Donta Catering
• Other: @NachoCrazyTexas